Arctic Flowers
by Nikolay K
Summary: The first time they meet,Elsa and Anna have a really bad start,but it gets better,hopefully.
1. 1 What have you done?

"Here we go."

Elsa thought to herself, as she entered the large hall,where the party was taking clouds of cigarette smoke and the aroma of alcohol were flowing through the air contaminating everything they sound of laughter was drumming in her ears,as people were constantly bumping rudely into her and passing her looked around,trying to notice someone she knew.

"Nope,didn't think so."

A heavy sigh escaped the blonde's mouth,as she judged the best course of action would be to get over to the bar as quickly as really needed a to maneuver her way through the noisy crowd,she began getting strange looks from the strangers. She didn't recognize them,but they surely recognized look of pity in their eyes was making her glistening jewels and sad eyes made her close her eyes and just short of running,she paced in the bar's general direction.

"Ouch!" In her hesitation Elsa had accidentally almost trampled another young stood up and dusted her dress off,as her flaming crimson hair reflected in the blonde's deep crystal blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you" The redhead rushed to apologize with a slight smile on her tried to open her mouth to apologize right back,but nothing came just stood there with her jaw hanging open(probably leaving the wrong impression) unsure of what to say.

"Is everything okay?" Before she could finish her sentence,the shy blond blushed and stormed off with embarrassment._I cant believe myself_._I hope that poor girl is firs time at a party and i screw up not ten minutes in._ These thoughts and many other raced through her head,as she clumsily made her way to the bar and sat ordered a shot of tequila to calm her nerves.

"Hi there" Elsa curiously turned her head to notice a young man throwing a subtle smile at turned away and tried to ignore him. Although he didn't take too kindly to her cold rejection,he still stood up and took the free seat next to the confused girl._Who is this guy, I haven't seen him before._ Nervously she began to over think it. _What does he want from me?Does he know me?Why is he so interested?_

"I'm sorry did I offend you or something?" He didn't talk as snobby as everyone else at the party, but he was acting surprisingly sober after, what Elsa judged by his breath must have been at least half a bottle of vodka.

"No, I just want to be alone." She stuttered as the alcohol set fire to her cheeks.

"Really? Then, why are you at a party?" With genuine wonder he looked at the distracted girl seated next to was obvious that he'd been to a lot of parties,but it looked like he'd never heard those words before.

_He's got a am i doing here?_ She thought back to when she opened her mailbox and a pretty magenta envelope fell out onto the floor. It turned out,that it contained an invite to a party some old friends of her parents were throwing. What could have possibly gone over her, to make her think it was a good idea to attend?She kept asking herself that as she swallowed another shot.

"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself" The tall brunette jumped up from his stool. "My name is Hans. Nice to meet you" He looked down at Elsa with a smile and sparkle in his shy girl turned her crystalline eyes to meet his. "I'm Elsa" Those two words made the smile fade from his face and the sparkles in his eyes to dim. "Oh, I didn't know you were going to parties" She turned to him with an angry was clear he knew her,if only by her name and its infamous reputation. "Well I presume you want to be left alone" Hans mumbled with a tone of disappointment. _Really what tipped you off?_ She retorted sarcastically in her mind. "But it's not healthy you shouldn't be so alone." This time there were sadness and concern mixed in with the disappointment.

"You don't know me." She whispered in her breath as her temporary companion left her and quickly lost himself in the crowd. "Good riddance, I wasn't getting anywhere with 's rich but it's not worth the are plenty rich desperate people here,I'll find someone else" He thought to himself, shuffling through the in his thoughts he ran into another young woman,the beautiful daughter of the hosts Anna,hair flowing like a red river splitting in two halfway,her fading sky-blue eyes and every single freckle on her pretty figure also deserves a mention,she was just a bit shorter than everybody else, just enough to notice, she wasn't as curvy as some other women at the party,but very charming nevertheless,she didn't have the "grace" common among women of her status but the attitude of the teenage girl she was crossed with the curiosity of a to say she was hard to miss in her fancy gown and high (though not high enough) heels.

_Alright,let's do this!_ Hans thought to himself,finished the drink in his hand and, in an attempt to not suspiciously introduce himself,bumped into Anna,spilling her drink on the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" they both cried out in synchronization,chuckles and giggles followed. "Hans" "Anna" They introduced themselves still shaking off their was a very outgoing person,still cautious she wouldn't trust a stranger,not right-off-the-bat anyway. "I believe I owe you a drink to follow me to the bar?" A sophisticated facade was immediately erected to hide what lay a smug smile and the feel of self-congratulation,Hans escorted the lovely lady to the bar,witch Elsa hadn't left all this time,drinking shot after shot.

Once settled in their stools with drinks in their hands,Hans attempted to seduce Anna with his "charm" and "sophistication".His futile attempts however,achieved little more than a distracted blush and a nod if he was was pretty cagey when it came to had been hurt before by her own nature and the actions of , she had heard the words "I love you too, but you're like a little sister to me" one too many wasn't letting Hans get too close.

"Jackpot!" Hans thought to himself. "Once I get into her family they'll share the wealth" In his own family he was the thirteenth youngest child. Needless to say his parents couldn't afford to take care of the needs of all their children,some corners had to be grew up wearing his brothers' old clothes,walking to school every day because there wasn't enough room in the two cars his parents had,he was hated by his brothers,to them he was only a hole,their parents threw money and attention in,money and attention they could have been giving parents had it worst of all,with thirteen kids to feed,each of them had to work two jobs barley leaving time for themselves and their kids,so most of the time Hans was in the "care" of his older brothers,who either made fun of him or ignored him wasn't sure witch one was more was filled with envy for all the other kids that didn't have to wear old rags just to keep warm in the face of the frostbite. In his early teens he rebelled against his parents and discovered,what he thought was his true love, a rich girl with a seemingly kind just used him and threw him unfortunate chain of events was what had turned him into what he was,when he first men was completely obsessed over exploiting women of hire class for his own gain and to an extent for payback,but not entirely.

_You disgust me. I really fucking hate the thought that we're the same person. How can you be so heartless after everything you've been through_? _You are pathetic._A voice rose from beneath a second facade he had erected not to fool others but harder he tried to conceal it the harder it hit. _I'd rather die than, be you for another minute!_ He clenched his fist and put up a fake smile to entertain his victim,trying to ignore his own deep down he knew the voice was right,but was too weak to change.

His companion however glanced around the room from her stool,halfheartedly nodding at his hollow attempts to woe was when she saw her,sitting alone at the other side of the bar glaring at the couple,the blond girl that had nearly ran her over was completely alone in the hazy had observed their whole exchange with a frown across her knew that something was wrong with their eyes met however the blonde's stern exterior had let slip a slight immediately looked down at the bar with embarrassment,as she swallowed another blue eyes squinted in a soft the time Elsa had collected enough courage to raise her eyes and look back at them,Anna was just observing her with great interest. _She's kind'a weird,i like that._ When their eyes met again Anna waved her hand, as she let loose the power of her beautiful roses bloomed in Elsa's cheeks as she subconsciously shared a thought with the stranger:_Wow, she's gorgeous!_ Both of them wrote it off to all the alcohol they'd consumed,but Elsa was a lot more worried about thought it was best to leave before her mind started playing more tricks on hesitation she downed one last shot and headed for the back door,her beautiful dark blue dress following after her like an really didn't want to answer questions like "Why are you leaving so early?" or "Did something go wrong?" again.

Anna noticed her goal and, without saying a word to Hans,stormed off after the mysterious figure that disappeared into the mist made of cigarette smoke and towering had finally reached the long hallway,at the end of witch stood the exit. _Almost free!_ Half-way through the silent corridor she heard a gentle voice behind her.

"Hey!" Elsa's heart skipped a beat as she turned Anna secretly didn't expect mysterious girl to acknowledge her,so she hadn't prepared a follow-up a second of awkward silence she opened her mouth. "So, why are you leaving so soon?" The confused words, that Elsa dreaded to hear,left the would-be escapee looking for an excuse. "I uh, I have work to do important work,so I should be going." The terrible liar completely failed to deceive the now slightly frustrated Anna. "Did something go wrong at the party? Did someone hurt you?" Elsa fought hard to contain the blush brought about by the concern of this complete stranger,but ultimately failed. "No, not at all.I just really don't want to be here." She uttered with guilt in her voice,she hated turning people seemed though the redhead took great offence at the statement and raised her voice in anger. "No wonder you were alone if that's how you treat want to be alone so bad?Fine then, go away!Since no one here is good enough for you, why did you even bother showing up?!" The weird affection Elsa had for this girl made her words all the more guilt she felt from before made her feel like she deserved it,made her feel even she felt a single tear trail down her cheek,she tried to say something,to apologize,but she couldn't find the just brushed off the tear, turned around and ran to the door,fighting the urge to look back.

The back door led to a tiny old alley between two hulking concrete looked around nervously to make sure no one saw her and walked had been a while since she allowed her sensitive side to crack the sturdy exterior,she feared that if she showed emotion in public people would just exploit that to get what they had first-hand experience in that she had contained her emotions with a straight face,deep down,where she didn't dare to look her heart was broken somehow still tried to concentrate as she approached the lively street just around the corner.

"Got change?" A thin voice rang through the air,riddled with a sad ,Elsa looked around, but saw no she looked down and her eyes met those of homeless child extending a skinny arm that held a small iron cup,his over-sized clothes riddled with holes, clinging to his slim undernourished the holes she could see the boy's ribs as they were trembling in the cold winter brought her hand to her mouth to contain a gasp as she felt another tear brewing behind her half-closed reached into her clutch and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill without even looking at what she was holding,she put it in the little cup and walked away with fear that the boy would try and return,what she had took to the street and hailed a cab.

Inside the building Anna was angrily walking back to the she reached the end of the hallway however,the sense of justification left her stranded. _Oh my god!_ Her eyes widened as she realized how cruel her word were. _I have to see her, NOW!_ She stormed out into the street, not even noticing the little boy curled up on the eyes met Elsa's as she was climbing into the cab. "Wait, please!" Anna's pleads were met with fear in the other girl's eyes,as the car escaped Anna's line of guilt,swirling up inside her,filled her mind with terrible thoughts,depicting the sad lonely girl harming herself and hating Anna for had nothing else to do but walk slowly back inside.A single snowflake landed gently on her face,melting on her soft skin and trailing down like a little beggar,already having been ignored once, didn't want to attract any more attention,so he just averted his eyes from the young woman that walked back into the focus shifted, however when he heard a soft sob behind turned back to see Anna with a hand over her mouth like Elsa,except Anna couldn't hold her tears face was glistening with tears,reflecting the soft moonlight as snowflakes gracefully swirled around kid opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a soft warm panicked at first,thinking the "_pretty lady_" wanted to hurt a moment's realization,he was speechless,he couldn't believe what was happening to the first time in forever no for the first time showed him kindness and eyes opened and lit up like shimmering sole moment in his life felt,as if it dragged on for weeks,the happiest he was ever going to Anna pulled away,for what was probably the worst moment of the boy's life,her breath coming out in short puffs of white gas,as the air around them grew colder,she slipped off her velvet jacket,exposing pale,bare shoulders to the cold,and wrapped the small boy in he stopped shaking from the cold,he raised his sparkling eyes to meet the kind stranger's and gave the most genuine heart-warming smile Anna had ever smiled back and walked away.

On the way Anna suddenly change her mind,she didn't want to go back to the party,she felt a bit drained after what she'd been through, after what she the guilt in the redhead's conscience made her walk home. _What have you done?_ Her mind flared up again. _That poor girl, she was all alone, probably the whole night, how could you do this to her?_ Guilty thoughts were hanging over her head like a dark cloud as she trailed away from the party, leaving Hans alone with his passed,blurred into hours as the guests left one by stood there, at the bar, patiently waiting for Anna to return. The realization that Anna had abandoned him started slowly breaking the wall between his conflicting selves down. _You're a fucking pathetic parasite!You're not even worthy to be the same species as Anna!You're not worth the air you breathe! _He considered drowning the voice in more alcohol,but he couldn't bring himself this time, the hours of the night ticked away,he found himself alone in the huge hollow room,quietly walking away he never stopped thinking about Anna.

The cab dropped Elsa off just in front of an old decaying entered the lobby to find a lone light bulb flickering in the center of the empty the elevator door was hanged a piece of cardboard with the words "out of order" scribbled on with a black marker. "Again?" She whispered in her had to walk up the stairs she ascended through the floors,cracks on the walls creeping around her, the things she had heard that night were howling like the winds of a storm inside her mind. "_It's not healthy to be alone. Why did you even bother showing up? Go away!_" Bit by bit she was breaking down,as her own inner voice joined the mix. _"So no one is good enough for you? Is that why shut them out?"_ _NO!_ She cried out in response. _I'm not good enough!_

She reached her apartment on the last floor,an elegantly decorated door contrasting to the dirty old walls that surrounded it,inside a beautiful apartment existing only inches away from the depiction of bright lights of the skyline were reflecting off the marble floor illuminating the living room,wrapping it in a soft cocoon of couldn't take it anymore,she collapsed on the couch and started the first time she wasn't able to control it,it couldn't be concealed was sobbing,tears glistening on her beautiful face.


	2. 2 Aftermath

No one could sleep that one tried really,how would they?

Anna resigned from the idea,to take cab home,and instead slowly walked home,her gaze fixed on the ground,watching as the cracks between the stone tiles were widening like the void in the back of her wasn't used to conflict,living a life of wealth and happiness,she never truly saw how bad things outside of her little ideal world could , having stepped outside,felling how the pain and fear,she had inflicted, were tearing at someone else,seeing that little boy,marvel at an act of kindness,he'd probably never even seen was one of the things Anna had only thought she felt,but now it felt more real than the air she was breathing.

The redhead stormed somewhat halfheartedly into her own house and immediately started looking through the list of guests that were supposed to be at the shifting through the lines,hoping to find the name and address of the girl from last night,she came to a realization,she didn't know her guilt,that had fallen victim to Anna's determination,miraculously came back from the dead and took her mind In its dark and desperate she went through every single name searching for the one she didn't hours of the night ticked away slowly.

After Hans humbly exited the now empty hall,where the party took place, he just stood there,in front of the building staring blankly into space. His thoughts refused to let him go,there was never a quiet moment in his to after a few seconds, he pulled out a pack of cheap cigarettes from his pocket and lit just walked away lost in his thoughts,unsure of where exactly he was going,anywhere but there.

The shadows creeping around the chain link fences and concrete colossi coupled with the rumbling of trains on the nearby track were little distraction from the civil war inside his howling wind tearing apart the gentle puffs of smoke as the escaped his lungs,was creeping up his bare arms when he removed his jacket,only his t-shirt protecting him from freezing to didn't even try lying to himself that the cold didn't bother ,he was very cold,but he liked it that way,because when it got so cold it was hurting,it was never going to hurt worse than the truth the voice inside his head was repeating over and over. _Just listen for once in your life._Self-loathing was slowly turning into self-pity._You can't live like this will you be satisfied with the pain you've caused?How much is enough?If you ever want to call yourself human again,go to her and let all of this you won't do that, will you?_

Hans was indeed tired of himself,so much so that it was driving him long he was hiding his disgust from he had become,deep inside he was still that little boy,trying to survive in the world that pushed him away and shut him out.

The arrogant sun was now steadily climbing over the horizon,its rays gently illuminating the snowflakes as they danced through the air and reflecting off frozen puddles on the just sighed at the sight and headed in front of the building his numb shaky hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a key-chain, involuntarily rattling it as he climbed the steps to the front found himself on the third floor of the building in front of an old wooden door riddled with scratches,dents and a single lonely bullet-hole. _Such dear memories._ He slid the rusty key in the lock,it took a few jerks,but it finally nervously locked the door behind him took to the living caught a quick glance at his brother through the open door of his room snoring on the bed,probably crushed by the 12-hour night shift it took to pay the on the couch,where he usually slept,in front of the running TV,he contemplated whether or not to play Metal Gear Solid for the next twelve hours,before discarding the idea in favor of taking a much needed nap.

Elsa however was motionless the entire night,powerless to get up and move to her she could do was let all her bottled up emotions pour out,leaving her before had she laid bare so much of herself, she was just thankful no one was there to see her like eyes did nothing to hold the cold tears back,each tear dancing down her pale features,reflecting the lights of the city,somehow complementing her just kept on pouring out,overflowing and it was gradually giving the poor girl more and more space for thoughts in her her sobs died out,replaced by hiccups,who were themselves replaced by dead silence.

Shimmering blue eyes shot open to witness the morning sun creeping over the horizon as the lights of the skyline dimmed and faded away, leaving the gentle rays of sunlight to glisten in Elsa's wet closed her eyes once more to lose herself in the silence.

Having spent all night shifting through the names of boring rich people,Anna was ecstatic when she finally found what she was looking for, letting out a small,victorious squeak. _Elsa? That's_ a pretty name. After confirming the name belonged to the girl from last night,Anna punched the address,to which the invite was sent,in her phone and let the small device guide her.

Hans awoke from his slumber to the lifeless mess,that was his brother's loud snoring was still filling the hallway,forcing him to go over to his brother's room and gently slam the door didn't stop the snoring,but at least it was now somewhat remembered the promise, but quickly realized, he was not fit to step out of the apartment. One cold shower later and he was thoroughly brushing his teeth,trying to get rid of the stench of alcohol and smoke in his pulled out a pair of old worn jeans and a plain t-shirt from his drawer,deciding to throw away the pretense of sophistication for the real halfheartedly looked at his watch and realized it was almost eleven,grabbing a hoodie from the coat hanger near the door and headed out.

An inch of snow had already covered the city in its soft wind had died down,no longer was the aggressive howling echoing through the streets,instead a cold messenger was slowly prowling,gently guiding the snowflakes to their was leaving behind small footprints in the snow on her way to the old building where Elsa she reached to open the door,it creaked open,to reveal Hans standing on the other side.

"Hey." Anna didn't recognize him,the tuxedo swapped out for formal jeans and sneakers,the humble hoodie paling in comparison to the elegant jacket,blood-shot eyes hidden behind sunglasses. _What kind of douchebag wears sunglasses in winter._

"Hans?" The girl mumbled in disbelief. "What are you doing here?" Somehow she found it hard to believe that the casually dressed man was the same person,who talked her ear off about pretentious bullshit, spilling lie after lie the whole time.

"Well,I kind of live here." He paused,rubbing the back of his neck. "So,what happened last night?Did I say something wrong?I'm sorry if I did! _Smooth._

"No,no,I didn't mean to leave you alone at the party. "She didn't fell particularly sorry about it last night,but looking at him now,she began second guessing herself again. "There was an accident in the back alley and I had to leave."

"What?!Did someone hurt you?" Fires lit in his eyes,but Anna couldn't see past the dark shaded glasses. "What happened?"

"No." She blushed at the concern she was shown. "If anything,I hurt someone." Her eyes fell to the snow-covered ground. "I'm here to make amends."

"Oh." The fire in Hans' eyes died suddenly as his face grew cold. "What did you do?" His voice was thick with disbelief and disappointment. _Looks like you were made for each-other._

"I would rather not get into it,it's a sore subject." Still fixated on the ground she failed to prevent a sigh from escaping her throat. "For what it's worth,I hurt you too and I'm sorry." She finally lifted her eyes to meet his,discovering that he had taken off his sunglasses,exposing red eyes to the cold wind.

"Well you consider making it up to,by having lunch with me?" A wishful smile carved its way through his face.

"I don't know." She uttered with had to admit to herself that it would be cold of her to just leave him a second time and that his new found honesty and actual human emotion was kind of charming. "I guess I could. Here's my number." The girl said while scribbling some numbers on a piece of paper,she pulled out of her pocket. "We can arrange something" She shoved the little piece in the confused boy's hand. "See you later." She threw a halfhearted smile his way,as she passed him by,entering the building.

Hans made a futile attempt at speaking out how much he appreciated the second chance he was given,but his mouth would only go as far as "Bye." _Are you sure it's a second chance, sounded more like a combination of pity and guilt to me._

With his mission accomplished Hans,decided to take a walk in the local park instead of returning to his oppressing,small he was afraid that if he went back inside with Anna,he would screw up,and partially he just wanted to be alone for a bit,relishing in his small victory over his own repulsive nature.

Anna on the other side was a bit repulsed by what she saw dirty floors riddled with unidentifiable stains and particularly sticky spots,the cracked walls,leaving the impression that the building was going to collapse on its self and the faint smell of something,she couldn't quite tell what,but it was making her uneasy,everything was making her want to run out of the building,but she held her ground and walked to the disappointed as she was,to find it nonoperational,she was also somewhat relieved that she didn't have to enter the presumably horrifically damaged took off, desperately avoiding the more suspicious stains on the floor as she made her way to the stairwell.

Suddenly Anna felt unsure of what to do,as she was standing right in front of the sturdy iron door that bore Elsa's name on fist stopped inches away from the door,while guilt and fear were taking their toll on the just closed her eyes and shook her head, discarding her insecurities with admirable determination.

The knock against the cold metal sent a sudden burst of adrenaline through Elsa's system,it made her jump up from the still red, hair messy,face still glistening wet,had she worn makeup it would have also been legs managed to get her to the door and a trembling voice called out to the other side.

"W-Who is it?" A soft hand pressed against the metal,awaiting a response.

Anna was thankful to just hear the girl's voice,ensuring that she is alright. "I'm Anna. We met last night, remember?" She secretly hoped the door would stay shut,excusing her from facing her wasn't so lucky.

The lock clicked and the door creaked open.A pair of curious blue eyes appeared in the void of the seemingly empty corridor,looking at Anna. After a few seconds Elsa realized who she was looking at and let out a silent gasp,before shutting the door and leaning her back on it. Breathing heavily she waited for anything,a voice,another knock,the sound of footsteps.

Anna's heart nearly stopped,as she leaned on the cringed,when she heard a soft whine from the other forced herself to say something. "Listen." A brief pause followed,as Anna tried to think of what to say. "All I want to do is apologize. I never meant to yell at you, you never did anything wrong.I am so,so open the ." She just held her breath,awaiting a response.

Nearly falling,when she felt the cold metal give way,and jumped desperate pleads had been answered and she was now facing the shy blonde heart skipped a beat at the sight of the glistening face and sad,red-tinted eyes looking back at her.

"Come in." Elsa made a noncommittal gesture in the direction of the living was following the stranger with her eyes,while she was crossing nervously through the dark gently closing the door and locking it,the blonde followed in the darkness,wiping away nearly dry tears and fixing up her hair.

"Wow,this place is really gorgeous." Anna failed to contain her amazement at the beautiful decoration and interior design of the apartment. She found herself wondering why this seemingly fragile girl was living in a crumbling old train of thought crashed in the wet couch cushion that had caught her attention. _Was it that bad?_

Feeling Elsa's presence at the door,Anna quickly turned around to meet the pleading gaze of the sat down around the coffee table and Anna proceeded to pour her soul out in one apology.

"Please forgive me.I'm usually a really nice person,but I had just spent the last three weeks organizing every single detail of that party and I was felling on edge last night so I blew up at you for no good reason.I'm really sorry.I promise I can….." She felt she was overdoing it,when she noticed the smile on Elsa's face,so sincere and no one had talked to her like that in a long time.

"It's okay.I forgive you.I didn't mean to make you angry,I just get very nervous in crowds and am generally awkward in social situations." Elsa had no idea where this confidence was coming from,but she was unimaginably grateful for it. "I appreciate you coming here to apologize,most people would have forgotten me and moved on."

With a heavy sigh of relief Anna leaned back, sinking in the seconds passed in awkward silence before she found the words to express herself. "You don't look so good." Concern was weaved into her tone "What kind of sore spot did I hit last night?"

"It's nothing,I'm alright really." Elsa was always a bad didn't even come close to deceiving the redhead.

"You're a terrible liar,really bad. Just tell me, it's okay." This time demand was mixed in with the concern,but it was met with sadness swirling in Elsa's eyes as she hung her head. "If you don't want to." Anna added in a fit of panic,trying to comfort the poor girl.

Elsa's lips molded into a grateful smile, looking at her companion, she felt compelled to say something,anything,but she couldn' broke the silence by standing up and heading for the door. "I guess I'll be leaving then." She shot a reassuring smile her way and passed her by.

"No, please don't go." Elsa let her thoughts slip,whispering in her breath.

"What?" Anna turned around surprised,looking at the nervous knew all too well, what she had heard,but she pretended she didn't.

"Um, do you want some coffee?" Elsa uttered the first thing that came to mind,with no time to think.

"Yeah,sure." Anna met the invitation with a smile. "I would love a cup."

Over the steaming cups of freshly brewed coffee the discussed books,music,films,art and whatever else came to was so happy to finally have someone to talk to and Anna was happy to be that seemed to go on and on forever.


	3. 3 Life starts now

**Sorry for not updating in the last week.**

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The conversation could have gone on for hours,it probably did,but neither Elsa nor Anna just sat there in that small apartment,talking and had completely forgotten about what happened last night,she couldn't believe that someone was actually enjoying her company,so she just listened to Anna's uncontrollable rambling,helpless to stop a thankful smile from forming on her on the other hand,was too busy asking questions to notice,as usual her curiosity got the better of were a few questions that she was afraid to ask,she tried to hold them back, but they started to slip through her lips before she could react.

"Why are you living in a place like this?I mean it's kind of repulsive,the building not your place is gorgeous,just like you." Anna couldn't help but panic and it was really easy for Elsa to see it.

"I don't know." The smile morphed into a sly panic on the redhead's face,now accompanied by a bright red blush,struck the blonde as cute and a more than just a bit attractive. "I never liked clean,sterile places,they bore me to death.I prefer places like this,because every crack on the walls,every stain and every piece of graffiti has a story to since I was a little girl I loved old things and time I traveled anywhere with my parents,I demanded to know if there were any old ruins to explore and they'd just smile whenever I pretended to be an archaeologist." Her expression turned blank,as she mentioned her parents.

"Is everything alright?" A concerned voice escaped Anna's lips,as she saw the enthusiasm and happiness escape her companion. "Is this something about your parents?"

"No,it's fine.I'm fine really." Elsa didn't really know who she was desperately trying to convince Anna or herself.

Anna didn't want to push her further,afraid of how she might react,so in an attempt not to look at Elsa,the redhead's eyes started moving rapidly trying to focus anything that wasn't finally stopped at the giant windows,covering the wall behind her. She didn't realize until now, but the daylight was dying,soon it would get dark.

"Wow,it got this late already?I think I should go."

"Yeah,I guess it's getting late." The disappointment it those words was enough to make Anna stay for a while more,but she couldn't.

They walked to the front door of the apartment in awkward had so much more to say and ask she wanted to find out about Elsa,she wanted to know more,because she had never met anyone like her was nervous,panicked that she'd done something to chase Anna was hoping she didn't,because she'd never see her again,the only person to show her any affection in a long time,longer than it was comfortable to admit.

"So,will we see each other again?" Elsa asked with a mixture of hope and dread in her was afraid to hear the answer.

"Of course we will!" Anna turned to the side to face the other girl,only to see hope and desperation floating in the crystal blue eyes of a beautiful 's lips curled into a smile and she said softly. "I promise."

After the failed attempt at a hug from Anna resulted in a cripplingly nervous handshake,she couldn't help but smile as Elsa's cheeks lit on fire and blue eyes fell to the a wave of her hand,which to Elsa was one of the most adorable things in the world,she disappeared into the seconds later Elsa safely returned to reality and slowly closed the the slow,calm walk back to the living room a happy grin took over her face,she couldn't get rid of it,even if she wanted in the living room,Elsa realized that she hadn't slept in the last twenty four hours and felt quite couldn't notice with Anna around,but once the redhead had left Elsa could barely gather enough energy to move any hesitation she threw herself on the couch.

"Nope" Not thirty seconds later the exhaust was overcome by how cripplingly uncomfortable the couch Elsa was too busy last night to notice or she just didn't care,but she couldn't fall asleep on that an ungraceful grunt she pulled herself up from the couch and shuffled her way into the fell onto the bed,losing herself in the calming,cool embrace of the eyes retreated behind closing eyelids and the blonde let out a content sigh,as she fell asleep.

* * *

Hans was just walking through the park with a new-found admiration for the beauty of the world around city always seemed too grey and boring to him,so he never looked twice at his however,now he'd opened his eyes to a world that eluded him for so gentle wind whistling in the bare branches of the trees,the snowflakes dancing in the crimson light of the dying sun,the puffs of white breath shifting through the air as the wind took them,everything seemed almost as beautiful as Anna.

It was time for him, to return to the had been walking around for hours and probably made a few loops around the park,taking in the came home to a familiar sight,namely his brother sunken in the couch playing video a halfhearted smile he took off his hoodie and joined his brother.

"Hey man,where have you been all day?" His brother was curious,but not enough to avert his eyes from the dim light of the TV.

"I was out." Hans spat out a disinterested response,as he fixed his own eyes on the screen.

"I figured as much." Sarcasm wasn't even slightly concealed. "Who was with you, another rich prom queen?" His focus on the game became stronger and he narrowed his eyes.

"I was alone." He tried and failed to contain a disappointed sigh. "No, you're doing it wrong."

"Alone?Really?That's not like you." Frustration grew in his voice and teeth started grinding. "I know what I'm doing."

"If you know how to fail,then yes,you do know what you're doing." The insult laced with arrogance and condescension only helped stew the frustration.

"Whatever." The insult didn't phase the older brother,as the dismissive tone brother rang through the thick air. "What were you doing alone anyway?" That question had him far more intrigued.

"I was just thinking.I took a long walk in the park"

"Is that some code for smoking weed that rich people use?" The frustration was waging a fierce battle with curiosity in the mind of the gamer.

"Very fucking clever." The sarcastic retort didn't help much.

"Well, I'm sorry your majesty.I never knew you were such a thinker." At this point he was desperately hammering away at the buttons,trying his hardest to not die.

_Neither did I._ "Whatever." Eyes narrowed at the screen once again as Hans began criticizing once again. "No,don't go there you'll 's the completely wrong direction you idiot."

"Damn it!Fuck this game!" Hans was absolutely right,just like any other time he talked about video a child,neglected by most if not everyone,he turned to video games for what little joy there was in his life.

"Told you so" Eyes strayed away from the small TV and turned to his brother,who stopped himself from throwing the only controller they had at the only TV they had,if any one of those somehow broke,a replacement wouldn't be affordable.

"Fine then,let's see if you can do better ghost." The old childhood nickname was intended as a tease,but it did more damage than never let it show and accepted the challenge.

"Watch and learn." An arrogant smirk appeared on his face as he took the controller and started ripping through the level with admirable ease.

"That's come it's so easy for you?Cheater!"

"It's called 't be jealous,it doesn't fit you" The smirk hadn't left his face adding insult to more insult.

"Whatever." The anger in his voice seemed to have disappeared,replaced entirely by curiosity. "So grate thinker,what were you thinking about?

"Just stuff" The halfhearted excuse took up enough of him to get him killed in the game. _Anna._

* * *

Anna had finally arrived home after a seemingly eternal half-hour taxi ride and was ready to stuff her hadn't eaten all day and was practically her parents already had dinner without her,she had no other option but to sneak into the most of the staff had already left making easy to sneak scanned the entire room before acquiring her target,a tray of fancy chocolates. _No one would notice if a few went missing. _So with half of the chocolates in her hands she gracefully escaped and headed for her the way there she picked up a book from the library,planning to read it for a few hours and then catch some sleep.

Once in her room Anna quickly shut the door,let her hair down and took off her socks, she really hated wearing put the chocolates on the bedside table and threw herself onto the needlessly large a minute and a half later all the chocolates were gone and Anna was left licking her minute later the book she was holding above her head fell to her face,as loud snoring filled the room.


	4. 4 Smile

Anna awoke from her deep slumber to hear an unnecessarily loud book that had been gently resting on her face fell in her lap,when she shot up to look for her thirty seconds of desperate searching and pleads for the caller to not hang up,Anna located the illusive device and answered.

"Hello?Anna?" A relieved voice responded from the other side.

"Yes." The not so sleeping beauty cleared her throat in an attempt to shake off her grumpy tone. "Who is this?"

"Hey,it's you want to hang out or something?" The insecurity was pouring through the phone,something not unfamiliar to Anna.

"Hans?" A confused voice set loose from her lips as the redhead pulled back all the hair from her face and rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah we have met twice already?" The worried reply sent Anna into a fit panicked apologizing.

"Oh,I'm so sorry." A yawn she was fighting with since the conversation started escaped her lungs. "I'm just waking up and I'm not thinking straight."

"It's twelve AM and you're just waking up?"

"It's what?!I'm sorry but I have to get out of bed right now!" In her hurry Anna hung up and stormed into the bathroom,leaving Hans worried and confused.

Fifteen minutes later she had emerged victorious from the battle with her hair that had apparently grown twice its size in her sleep and taken over most of her head,after a quick cold shower she stepped out of her bathroom safely wrapped in a sat on the bed and proceeded to dry her hair.A sudden realization hit her midway and she grabbed her phone to find an unanswered text.

"So do you want to meet or not?"

Anna had completely forgotten the topic of the conversation, she may have a slight obsession over making the most of her time, waking up past nine was unacceptable unless in an extreme situation such as getting lost in a book until three AM. Wet,slippery fingers started poking the screen and in no time Anna had formed a coherent sentence,writing was a lot easier than talking.

"Yeah,I'd love to.I think my favorite Italian restaurant is open right to go grab lunch there?" Her finger accidentally slid off from the send button and she ended up typing a row of question marks instead,taking another precious nugget of her time to fix and send it.

"Actually I was thinking about something a little more 's a little diner not far from my apartment,it's a nice,quiet ?"

"Okay,sounds me the address and I'll be there in half an hour." As she continued struggling with her hair,she thought it was to move up the time a bit. "Make it forty-five minutes."

With a violin case in her hand,Anna walked through the snow that flew through the cold winter air and settled gently around fading light of the sun was annoyingly obscured by the ugly grey clouds,drowning the city in shadows,but every now and then the clouds would tear under the unstoppable force of the wind and the sun would give a slither of hope before its light was swept away once frosty wind howling in the streets had scared off most travelers,it was preferable to just stay away from the cold,but some chose otherwise.A few people were walking in the face of the unforgiving wind,unwilling to surrender as it slowly chipped away at their courage with every snowflake that it threw at them Anna was not by herself but she felt the time she reached the small diner where Hans was waiting,the melted snowflakes on her face colored it bright red and she opened the door to an adorable little restaurant, nearly empty but so turned her eyes to the corner by the window to meet Hans' own deep brown looked relieved,as if he didn't believe she would come,but at the same time thankful beyond comparison.A smile and a wave of her hand were enough to stretch his lips into a smile as she walked closer.

"Hey."

"Hi."

Anna sat down by the window opposite to Hans and noticed he had been there for quite some time,his steaming cup of tea was half empty and he looked genuinely happy to see was a first.

"Do you want anything?"

"A cup of coffee would be nice,I'm still kind of tired."

With a wave of his hand Hans caught the attention of the lone waitress behind the counter and requested the drink.

"So,I didn't know you could play the violin." Hans attempted to start off the conversation with something not related to him unlike usual.

"Well,you never asked." Anna rolled her eyes and looked out the window. "By the way,I have practice in two hours so I won't be able to stay long."

You don't even deserve two hours of her time. "It's alright two hours is more than enough,I still wish we had some more time though."

"Yeah." Anna's interest grew smaller and smaller by the second,as she found herself wondering whether or not she should have accepted in the first place.

"I'm sorry,when we first met,I was too busy and caught up in myself that I never asked about you.I don't know you very well,but I'd like to."

"I don't think there is much to know really,nothing interesting in me." Her eyes looked back at Hans and saw frustration building in his expression.

"Anyone who has ever said that sentence is a liar.I hate it when people think so little of just tell me something,anything." Determination sparkled in his eyes,he didn't have the intention to spend the next two hours in silence.

"Well okay." Anna started to crack under the confidence of her companion. "I have played the violin ever since I was five years old,I love music and I love making music,I'm still learning though."

"I can't remember being that passionate about anything when I was a kid." His warm smile faded away and his eyes fell as took another sip from his tea. "What were you like back then?As a child I mean."

"A normal child I guess.I never did anything too crazy,but I had lots of were so nice as children,now most of them are stuck up jerks.I don't even know them anymore."

"I was raised with and for the most part by my twelve older were a big family under a small roof,my parents worked day and night to keep us from starving."

"Must have been nice to have twelve people to look after you.I grew up in a big house with no one around but my parents,we're really close you must have had fun growing up with so many people around." Anna was getting curious without noticing,something that she did a lot.

"That's not how my brothers saw of them barely paid attention to me,those who did saw me as a verbal punching bag." The memories were starting to get to him as he started remembering more and more vividly events from his childhood,if you could call it that.

"That's horrible." Genuine compassion filled Anna's voice,a reaction Hans wasn't used was probably the first person he ever talked to about this.

"It wasn't all that bad got better as I grew up,since then I have never been phased by an insult.I guess it's not that good,but it's something." Hans never wanted people to know him as well as he was revealing himself in that moment, but for Anna he would tell every secret in the world.

Anna's coffee finally arrived and she was so ecstatic to have the heavenly drink in her hands that she forgot that it was blazing hot and took too large a sip. "Ow, hot!"

Hans couldn't stop a goofy smile from forming on his face at the sight of the redhead jumping up and down in her seat. "I never understood coffee,tea is much better." He raised his cup and took another sip just to tease her.

"How dare you?" Her eyes narrowed as she stared down the arrogant coffee-hater. "You just can't handle it." A smirk curled on her face as she took a sip from her drink in a competitive manner.

"I never would have guessed that you were so seem so nice."

"Are you saying that I'm not nice?I thought we were friends."

_Friends_ "I'm sorry it was just a joke." A sudden apologetic tone took Anna by one had ever taken her that seriously before,it felt good.

"Calm down,we're only joking around,right?"

As the redhead flushed with embarrassment,her gaze flew across the nearly empty room,trying to avoid eye blue eyes stopped at a familiar short figure dressed in a velvet picked up something wrapped in a paper bag from the counter and turned Anna's surprise and joy it was the little boy from the eyes lit a blaze at the sight of Anna and the little beggar threw up his free hand in an adorable couldn't resist waving back as her smile grew by the expression on his companions face,the confused brunette turned in his chair to see Anna's mysterious correspondent. The sight of a skinny little boy in worn out,over-sized clothes hit a little too close to home for him,but the smile on his face shattered Hans' memories like a glass window and just for a moment he forgot, a moment he wished would never end.

The child walked out the door,still waving,and Hans heard a concerned voice from Anna calling him back to reality.

"Are you alright?" Anna leaned in slightly and looked into deep brown eyes to see confusion washing away as the senses returned to him.

"Yeah,I'm fine." A slightly shaky and hesitant response,but it was better than nothing. "Hey, I'm you want some sandwiches?"

"I love sandwiches!" Anna chose to pretend she didn't notice that something was tearing at it was, wasn't a great mystery,but she was afraid to bring it up,afraid that she might repeat what happened to was different though,she didn't know how he would react and she really didn't want to.

The waitress brought two needlessly large sandwiches to their table Anna started to question her decision,but the challenging look in Hans' eyes fed her competitive spirit too much and she ended up challenging him to a sandwich-eating competition,yet another choice she was going to Hans' close victory he leaned back into his chair,wiped the breadcrumbs away from the corners of his mouth and threw a teasing smirk at two hours passed by in a blink,filled with smiling,laughing,accusations of cheating and more than a few concealed then Anna left,leaving Hans behind in the now empty diner,sitting alone among the empty chairs,looking at the beautiful dance of the snowflakes in the dying light of the setting sun.


	5. 5 Apparition

That morning something remarkable years Elsa dreaded waking up,dreams were so much better than the dull,grey monotone of took hours for Elsa to convince herself that the outside world had something to offer over the comfort of her morning however,she jumped up as soon as she dream she had was long forgotten,but the wide smile it had left on her face stood as a feet landed on the cold,marble floor without even flinching,as she made her way to the bathroom.

She couldn't wash away the smile even if she wanted usual ten minutes she spent in the shower everyday were now replaced half an hour of absentminded daydreaming under the hypnotic sounds of thee running water and its gentle chilling her stomach started growling for attention,she decided it was time to leave the comfort of the shower and grabbed her towel.

The grey guardians of the sky had shown mercy and let the soft sunlight pour through the windows of her little,lonely kingdom, making the little,hidden droplets of water in her hair light up and eyes curiously glanced through the window and saw the whole city drowning in monolithic skyscrapers overlooked it like watchmen, made of concrete and steel.

The blondes stomach was still unsatisfied and continued its pleads for attention,which broke her concentration,so she dried herself and threw the wet towel in the washing ,she made her way to the closet and emerged wearing a casual set of jeans and a T-shirt of her favorite band,as usual.

The marble floors were stone cold,but that didn't bother Elsa one bit,as she walked to the kitchen barefoot,still the fridge,she realized that there wasn't much choice to be had been a while since she went grocery fruits,some orange juice,a tomato,some mozzarella and half of a chocolate cake were occupying the rather lonely shelves.A glass of juice and a slice of cake were the obvious and only brought the improvised meal to the living room,relaxed on the couch and started eating,overlooking the city through the windows.

Every once in a while Elsa snapped out from her fantasies and take a bite out of the thirty minutes passed until she finally finished the so called breakfast and another twenty until she got up to put away the and ideas were jumping in and out of her mind so fast,she could barely follow particular stood out among the rest-today was the had completely forgotten that in the light of recent events.

_Right,let's get some writing done! _Determined,the blonde pulled out her laptop and opened it,letting its sharp light spill over her chest as she placed the machine on her fingers started dancing across the keyboard,leaving behind a black trail on the bright daydreams persisted fiercely,clouding her mind and distracting her at every didn't take long to remember how tedious of a process writing if she was lucky enough to concentrate on the words that kept evading her and focus for more than five minutes,she still had to proofread, edit, spell-check and think of a title before she could send it for the time the final text was complete Elsa was absolutely sick of looking at a heavy sigh she pressed "send" and leaned back into the couch.

Elsa was broken out of her trance yet again,this time by the sound of a mellow rock song coming from across the the urge to stay on that couch forever she got up with a displeased grunt and walked over to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" The nervous blonde held the small device to her pale ear.

"Hi,this is Anna." An enthusiastic voice was let loose from the other end. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks for asking." She tried to swallow the lump in her throat and attempted to speak again. "Why are you calling?" Although obviously a nervous wreck, Elsa was beyond happy to hear that gentle voice again.

"I promised that we'd meet again,remember?Do you want to go out or something?" _You certainly have a way with words._

"I don't really feel like going anywhere right now." It was only the was perfect in her home why would she want to leave it.

"Oh,okay then." Disappointed, Anna was about to hang up just before something remarkable happened.

"You can come here if you want." The first thought of the top her head made its way to her mouth without her permission,so she just bit her lip and hopped for an answer.

"Yeah,I'd love to.I'll come by in a few hours,okay?" Not quite what she was hoping for,it was still progress.

"Sure, you in ." With shaky fingers she hung up before Anna could reply.A deep breath later,knees failed her and she collapsed on the couch,if she could only see the grin on the redheads face.

While lying on the couch,yet another epiphany caught Elsa off hadn't cleaned her place in a while.A few hours were more than enough to complete the task,but the panic had not yet left her and she immediately got to the floors,wiping the dust off of every surface in the apartment,taking out the thrash,doing the dishes,cleaning the windows,rearranging every single shelf of books in an attempt to better hide the risqué tomes in her collection and contemplating whether or not there should be music playing in the background would have exhausted most however was carried by her undying determination to impress her lovely combined with all the adrenaline washing away in her system had the job done in no time.

Elsa took a deserved rest after the herculean tasks and used the quiet moment to gather her thoughts. _Everything's in order. But what is that smell? _The hard work was nothing short of a complete workout and seemed to have the effects of interesting aroma was flowing across the room with the blonde as its ,she wiped her wrist across her forehead to wipe off the sweat and glanced at the luck was smiling as it seemed,because there was just enough time for a quick shower before the arrival.

Once inside the bathroom no hesitation was involved,when Elsa threw off all her clothes and jumped in the she lost herself yet again in the calming sounds of running water and the chilling embrace of every single resulted in her taking too long and not paying any attention to the time.

The doorbell was the last thing she expected to hear as she froze under shower.A couple of seconds was all it took for her blank gaze to focus,while panic took over her water quickly stopped as the blonde stepped out of the shower,only to realize that all her towels were in the washing best option she could find was barely enough to cover the important even taking the time to properly dry herself,she raced out to the door,leaving behind a faint trail of wet footsteps.

Anna was lightly drumming her fingers on the mahogany violin case,distracted sky blue eyes following the dark cracks on the pale shot back to the door,when the redhead heard the heavy door creak open.A single,curious,crystal eye stood on the other side carefully inspecting the humble rest of the door shot open once Elsa was sure it was 's eyes widened as they followed the droplets trailing down Elsa's ,Anna ignored the first few invitations to come in.A sly grin slid onto Elsa's face as she pushed wet bangs away from her eyes,before making another attempt to get her companions redhead finally snapped out of it,when she felt her jaw starting to slack and the most awkward smile formed on her lips as roses bloomed in her cheeks once more.

"Would you like to come in or…" Barely contained giggles were fighting for their freedom in Elsa's throat as she tried to keep a straight face.

"Uh-huh." Struggling to find the words Anna ran her hand through fiery red locks and tried again. "I mean sure." _Well played._

"Come on!" Elsa gestured to the living room,turned around and headed there without hesitation,as Anna's eyes were left following the soft curve of the blonde's spine,eyes falling ever lower. "I'll put some clothes on,while you make yourself at home."

With one hand tightly clutching the small piece of cloth that covered her,Elsa turned to her bedroom and slammed the door shut,leaving behind a wet trail of delicate alone,the humble host couldn't hide her emotions any longer,as she burst into a fit of silent she made sure she was dry,the blonde dropped the towel on the floor and slipped in pair of skintight jeans and a plain blue shirt,while Anna began nervously drumming on the violin case yet proved hard for her to shake off the mental image of Elsa accidentally dropping her towel and even harder to contain the blush that was spreading like a cancer across her.

"Hey." Elsa came out of her room with a smile.

"Hi." Fortunately she had taken long enough to let Anna gather some thoughts. "So,bad timing I guess?Hope you're not mad."

"Not at all!I'm glad you could make it,most people wouldn't spare the time to come all the way here just for me." The smile,so warm it rivaled the sun,melted away the redhead's anxiety and fear.

"I would and I will,any day,I promise." In that lone moment everything felt right with the world.

"So,you play the violin,huh?" The blonde raised a curious eyebrow.

"Yeah,but I'm not very good at it really."

"I don't believe you play something for me?"

"I don't know,I mean I'm not sure I can.I really don't want to embarrass myself."

Red lips curled into a confident smirk and crystal eyes focused on Anna,like a predator. "It's okay.I understand if you're not up to the challenge.

That one spark alone was all it took to light the fire in Anna's even saying a word she stood up,opened the case and pulled out an old,beautiful instrument,almost as beautiful as shined in her eyes as she strode to the empty space in front of the window and started gently caressing the of wonderful sadness filled the room,as deep blue eyes lost herself in the music and in no time she started a specter she was dancing under the fading light of the tired sun,red rivers of soft hair flowed behind her as she was spinning and turning as if she didn't have as one with her shadow,like a ghostly duet their tones drowned out the desperate howling of the was moving as if she wasn't even real,a living daydream set loose in all its the sun fell behind the horizon,drowning the pretty silhouette in darkness.

In the end Anna stopped to catch her breath and saw the look of utter awe on Elsa's was left wondering if what she saw was even something so mystical,so wonderful,so beautiful even exist?


	6. 6 Big Eyes

An eerie sense of déjà vu blew over Anna, while the ringtone was echoing in her ears. Misty eyes shot open as the girl, barely aware, rose from underneath the sheets. Soft light was crawling on the floor, sneaking its way into the bed and forcing itself into the redheads blinking eyes. She rubbed her palms over the faint blue gems that were her eyes, while the sound grew quieter. A tired yawn echoed across the room, as Anna tried to locate the source. Finally, she found it on the bedside table and managed to answer, with just a few seconds to spare.

"Hello?" Vocal cords struggled to produce the usually beautiful voice this early in the morning.

"Hi, Anna?" An excited voice rang through the phone, something she'd never heard before seemed so familiar.

"Elsa?" It truly was familiar, except for one detail. This was the first time she had actually heard excitement in Elsa's voice. The blonde's usual, calm monotone was now replaced by a positive and beautiful note of anticipation. "Why are you calling?"

"I'm really sorry if I woke you, but I want to show you something." The anticipation in her voice was only getting stronger with each word she spoke.

"Show me what?" Slightly perplexed Anna failed to realize that with every word she heard from Elsa her smile grew wider.

"I can't tell you. You have to see." Fighting back the giggles Elsa was desperately trying to keep calm.

"It's too early Elsa." Struggling with her own laughter, Anna was grasping at straws to stay in the comfort of her bed.

"Please."

"Okay, fine." As stubborn as she was, the redhead simply couldn't bring herself to say "no". Rubbing her eyes with her free palm once again, she moved ever so slightly to get out of the bed. "I'll come by in a few hours."

"Thanks! See you then." Although Anna couldn't see it, she was sure that Elsa was grinning with excitement, and was absolutely right.

After the conversations end another yawn escaped the girls' lungs, as her feet gently landed on the soft carpet. Balance was a small issue, seeing how she had spent the last eight hours flat on her back. That resulted in awkward shuffling and stumbling all the way to the bathroom. Half an hour later or around the third cup of coffee, Anna finally felt ready to get out of the house and venture forth to meet Elsa.

Perhaps more coffee was in order, but she was afraid of becoming even more hyperactive than usual. With that mindset the girl stepped out of the house into the unusually quiet garden. That was her favorite part of the whole house, always full of life, warmth and beauty. Somehow it had become a desert, a desolate and empty, place the plants were all gone, replaced by a thick layer of snow. Yet it still seemed beautiful, true the colorful plants were gone, but they were replaced by the small dunes in the snow, like waves in the ocean it seemed as if the snow was flowing, moving. She couldn't dwell on it for too long before realizing it was time to go.

The streets were also surprisingly empty, was it the cold or the early hours? It didn't really matter to Anna, she was occupied with something else. Something that was rare for her, she had sunken into deep thought, her empty gaze was wandering aimlessly, every footstep dug deeper into the snow, but the thoughts were dominating. _What is this, she wants to show me? Whatever it is, she is very excited about it. What if she opens the door half-naked again? What if….. _ She knew where that particular train of thought was headed and sought to derail it, but the thoughts still lingered in her mind, images of Elsa refused to leave her as they grew stronger. She stopped, feeling unusually warm, and noticed that her cheeks were burning red.

A deep breath, then two and she gathered her thoughts. Blue eyes focused once again started to look around in panic. The street was thankfully deserted, nothing but the whisper of a cold and lonely wind and the subtle dance of the snowflakes on their way to the ground. Anna continued forward, shaky steps leaving imprints in the snow. Slowly, step by step, she moved through the shadows of the tall monoliths that surrounded her. While staring at the ground the redhead saw something peculiar, warm sunlight was spilling onto the street from between two buildings. The alley that they formed was a convenient and tempting shortcut, so she stepped into the light, snowflakes shining like tiny diamonds as the swirled around her. It seemed the buildings provided shelter from the wind, the whispers in Anna's ear went quiet and the poor, little snowflakes plummeted to the floor.

The path was mostly empty, an old cart board box here and there, not much else, except for something very special. Anna's footsteps, although quiet and mellow, caught the attention of a small boy, dressed in a velvet jacket. His little head shot up as he looked down the alley. He saw the most wonderful thing in the world to him, the only person to show him affection coming to him in the light. Big, dark eyes opened wide, as the little beggar pulled himself up from the ground and started running towards the beautiful girl. Scared at first, Anna stopped, staring at the small dark figure that was speeding towards her, but when she realized, who it was, the redhead fell on her knees and threw her arms out. The boy could only run faster and faster, until they collided and she embraced him in a warm hug.

"Hey, little guy. What are you doing here?" A smile took over her face, as she ruffled the boys hair.

"I live here." A little shy, his answer echoed in the alley.

"I thought you lived in that other alley where I first met you."

"There are bad people there, they wanted to hurt me, so I ran away."

"Well, where are your parents, then?" Concern and curiosity were mixing in her voice as she looked deeper into the sad, dark eyes.

"I don't know." He broke eye contact and looked away to hide the tears. "I haven't seen them in a long time."

"Maybe you should go to the police, I can take you there."

"No! I don't want to go there, I want to stay here." A note of fear was woven into his voice.

"But, why?" Confusion was dominating her thoughts.

"I don't want to go! Please, don't take me there!" The boy started to pull away from Anna.

"Calm down! I'm not taking you anywhere, okay. You don't have to go if you don't want to." She grabbed the child's wrists firmly and pulled him back in. She could hear his every breath and heartbeat, fear and panic are truly powerful things. So many questions were popping up in her head, but she was afraid to ask, all she could do was hold him.

After a moment of silence Anna discretely slipped a banknote into the boys' pocket and stood up. Big, grateful eyes looked up at her, as her heart melted. She could see the fear, hiding behind dark shades of black and brown, but as the boy kept looking at her it slowly started to fade away. The sight brought a smile to the redheads face. She ruffled the boys' hair and walked away. He was left alone in his empty alley once again, in the safety of the silence.

Anna was a bit nervous, standing in front of the large, metal door of Elsa's apartment, she couldn't explain why but she was, unbearably so. A shaky fist slowly knocked against the cold steel and she stood back, waiting for the slow creek as usual. Needless to say she was a bit shocked when the door was flung open, Elsa standing on the other side. Tired bloodshot eyes met Anna's and immediately filled with joy.

"Hi, Els-!" Rudely interrupted, as Elsa grabbed her hand and yanked her into the apartment, Anna felt evermore confused. "What are you doing?" A genuine question that was obliviously ignored by Elsa, as she slammed the door shut and grabbed the redheads hand once again.

"Come on!" With an absentminded smile on her face, she led the poor, confused girl through the corridor and into the living room.

Just now Anna noticed that the hand she was holding was wrapped in a bloody bandage, but before she could open her moth to say anything, Elsa took a sharp turn and headed for the kitchen. That got her thinking again. _So whatever it is, she wants to show me is in the kitchen. I wonder what it is. Maybe she baked me a cake. No, it couldn't be cake, could it? I don't think it is, but I hope it's chocolate! _The thoughts stopped when they did, standing in front of the refrigerator.

Slowly Elsa opened the door and pulled out a beautiful ice sculpture of Anna, playing her violin. She turned around to face the girl and handed it to her. A second or two later the redhead had finally shaken off the confusion and took the small piece. It wasn't more than a foot long, but the ice was crystal clear with, tainted blue and the detail was incredible, she could see the strings on the violin and one or two stray locks of hair. The frozen beauty was nothing short of breathtaking.

"Do you like it?" Elsa was hesitant in her question, but curious.

"I love it. This is beautiful. I didn't know you were into ice sculpting." Words came out of her mouth but her eyes remained fixed on the small object, who's icy touch burned on her skin.

"After what you did yesterday, I felt kind of inspired, so I stood up all night and did this." Awkward, that is the most accurate word to describe Elsa at that point. She never got much recognition for anything she did, so when someone finally told her something nice, she didn't know whether to feel good about It or to question their opinion. On more than one occasion she was lied to for someone else's interests, her trust in people was slowly withering away. Anna however, she would trust Anna to the end of the world.

"You didn't sleep all night?" Finally she tore her gaze from the small statue in her hands and raised a curious eyebrow at Elsa.

"Yea, I couldn't sleep anyway." She blocked a quiet yawn with her bandaged hand.

"Hey, what happened to your wrist?"

"Well, the icepick I use is really sharp and not sleeping can have some effects on concentration. My hand slipped and got slightly impaled on the icepick. It's just a flesh wound, nothing serious."

"Oh." While going through a list of "nice things to comfort people" in her head, she felt a drop of water trailing down her wrist and realized that the small figurine was melting. Somewhat panicked Anna quickly handed the ice sculpture back to Elsa, so she can save it from melting. It rejoined the collection of other crystal figures in the fridge, among which one of a small boy with big eyes stood out.

After another yawn from Elsa, the couple relocated to the couch in the living room. The view was nice as usual, but Anna couldn't bother to notice. She felt humbled to be someone's inspiration. People had given her credit for her talents before, but none of it felt genuine. She wanted to let Elsa know how much it really meant to her, trying to find the right words and not seem like an awkward idiot fro once. Then she felt the blonde's head softly descending onto her shoulder. The lack of sleep had taken its toll on Elsa.

All Anna could do was run delicate finger through the platinum locks and enjoy the view.


End file.
